This invention addresses the testing of a telecommunications switch and is especially useful for testing a switch at its installed location. The invention includes a computer controlled test facility capable of running automated tests by controlling a plurality of telephone devices coupled to the switch.
The testing of a modem digital telecommunications switch presents a substantial challenge. The flexibility and power of such switches leads to an increasingly complicated test requirement. As used herein, testing refers to initial testing to establish correct functionality, testing intended to isolate the cause of a problem, and testing for continuous evaluation purposes. Special purpose test fixtures have been used for switch testing. However, such fixtures may be unique to a particular switch to be tested and may be too physically large to be useful for testing switches in a customer environment. Also such test fixtures typically only emulate telephones as opposed to using "real" telephones.
Once a switch has been installed at a customer location, testing of the switch prior to putting it into service minimizes possible service disruptions to telephone users to be supported by the new switch. Manual operation of conventional telephones connected to a switch can be utilized to test the switch by placing calls and activating features. Static switch problems, i.e., problems which result in the same repeatable failure in response to the same stimulus, are normally relatively easy to identify. However, other failures which occur only sometimes in response to a given stimulus are very difficult to locate utilizing manual test procedures. Such problems may involve several variables, all of which may not be under test control at the time of the failure. Because of the human error factor in manually generating a large number of repetitive calls, it is difficult to prevent test errors. A large number of calls and actions may be required in attempting to isolate difficult switch problems.
There exists a need for an improved facility to permit the accurate generation of a plurality of switch test conditions, especially where the switch has been installed at a final customer location.